ANNA HAZARE Hazare, a Gandhian by belief, outlook and practice, has become the face of India’s right against corruption. During his fast over the Lokpal Bill, Hazare, a quintessential traditional Indian by looks and mannerism, managed to inspire and mobilize the support of even the ultra-modern Indians – Indians for whom the word “social” only means having a profile on social networking sites. The ‘Anna Hazare fast’ can be described as the first real “social networking movement” in India. Hazare, a former Army man, began his social activism from Ralegan Siddhi, a village in Ahmednagar district in Maharashtra, where he successfully led a movement against alcoholism and made Ralegan Siddhi a “model village”. Hazare’s campaign was instrumental in the implementation of the Right to Information Act in Maharashtra, which is considered one of the best RTI Acts in India. A Ramon Magsaysay award winner, Anna Hazare, like his idol, Mahatma Gandhi, has triggered a debate over the use of fast as a means of protest in India. By sheer commitment and simplicity, he has demonstrated that Gandhian principles are relevant even in the 21st-century India. Kisan Baburav Hazare popularly known as Anna Hazare was born on 15th June, 1937 in Bhingar, near to Ahmednagar. His father worked in a... read more